Restoring Wood Windows with Bob Yapp

Photo: Yalecrest resident Rob Foye at work.
Last month I was fortunate to participate in a “Wood Window Repair and Weatherization Workshop” taught by Bob Yapp.  It was one of 3 classes put together by SLC Planning, Preservation Utah and the SLC RDA.  

Mr. Yapp is a renowned historic preservation expert.  In 1996 he created a series for PBS called “About Your House with Bob Yapp.”  Later he opened the Belvedere School for Historic Preservation.
2-EPK_9268

Bob Yapp with class participants

Having a hands-on class is a great way to learn.  Each class restored a traditional double-hung wood window.  We learned about safe paint removal, glazing, putty replacement, weather-stripping, and sash re-installation.  It was amazing how easily (and cheaply!) one can fix an old wood window so that it can do its job even better than before and last another 100+ years.

 


While working on the window sashes we also talked about energy efficiency and sustainability.  I wish I could remember the number of windows thrown into landfills each year.  It was astronomical.  Did you know…
  • It will take a consumer 40+ years to get any payback from replacement windows with insulated glass.
  • PVC or vinyl is the most toxic consumer substance manufactured today.  It can’t be recycled, off gasses toxic fumes and has contraction and expansion issues. It fades, cracks and has a maximum lifespan of 16 to 18 years.
  • Restored wood windows have another 100-year economic life before total restoration is needed again.  Replacement windows can never be restored effectively.
During our lunch break Bob said one of the great things about history and historic preservation is that it brings all kinds of people together.  Recently I attended an Entrada Institute presentation on the visual history of Wayne County.  The room was filled with people from a variety of political and religious backgrounds, old-timers and relative new-comers together.   With the photos and shared stories I saw appreciation, respect and even shared laughter.  Bob was right.  It really was NICE.
 
The info and conversations with Bob and the other class participants made this workshop great.  It was a lot of fun.   I highly recommend the class.
 
 
Note:  Top 4 photos courtesy of Ed Kosmicki.
— Kelly Marinan

Centennial – Harold B. Lamb House

The Harold B. Lamb house at 1327 Michigan Avenue, a distinctive two-story home of the Prairie School design, was built during the last half of 1915 and has therefore just reached its 100th birthday. Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes, whose massive fortune in silver mining earned her the title, “Utah’s Silver Queen,” financed the home’s building for her nephew Harold Bransford Lamb, the son of Susanna’s sister, Viola Bransford Lamb. Viola died after giving birth to Harold in 1886, and Susanna took in Harold to raise as her own. Harold and his family moved into the house when it was new.  He died nine years later of appendicitis. He was only 38 years old. The old photo of the house, from the Shipler Commercial Photographers Collection of the Utah State Historical Society, was taken February 9, 1916, 100 years ago. The new photo was taken February 9, 2016.

— Kim Childs

Miller Bird Refuge and Nature Park

Amphitheater at Miller ParkStairs

Miller Park located at 1706 East 900 South was dedicated on April 14, 1935.  Yalecrest resident Mrs. Minnie W. Miller, in the memory of her late husband Lee Charles Miller donated approximately 2 acres of land which along with city property and property acquired from The Herrick Construction Company established the Miller Bird Refuge and Nature Park. The park is a four-acre riparian woodland surrounding Red Butte Creek and is a contributing resource in the Yalecrest National Historic District.  The park features a beautiful historic stone bridge, amphitheater as well as stone walls.  The Salt Lake City Parks Department recently restored the park and stabilized the streambed and now more than ever the historic stonework bridge stands out as a shining star in the park.

Should Miller Bird Refuge be designated as an local historic district?  We at K.E.E.P. Yalecrest think so. One look at the beautiful stonework and one can see that YES this park is worthy of designation.

Walking Tour Saturday, Oct. 12

K.E.E.P. Yalecrest is hosting an educational neighborhood walk Saturday, Oct. 12 from 1-3 p.m. to highlight the architectural styles and historicity of some notable homes located on the 1300-1500 East blocks of Harvard and Yale Avenues.

We’ll meet at Harvard Ave. and 13th East and walk east to 15th East, then down Yale Avenue and back to the start.

We will be viewing a variety of exterior architectural elements from the sidewalk in small groups and giving a brief synopsis of notable people or events related to certain houses.

The tour is open to the public and we’re suggesting a $5 donation for participants who are not current members of our organization. A $25 per person or $50 per family annual membership is also available.

This is our first tour event and we’re very excited about the wonderful bits of history we’ve uncovered in our preparations.  We hope to see you Saturday!

If you don’t make the tour, here’s the program: Yalecrest Notable Homes Tour Oct 12 2013

HarvardYale_tour_map

Wall Dormers

wall dormers

Wall dormers are an interesting and unique architectural feature seen on some Period Revival Style homes in Yalecrest.  They are essentially a continuation of the wall above the roof eaves, breaking the line of the eaves.

Wall dormers are less commonly seen than roof dormers.  And unlike roof dormers, they generally offer little or no increase in floor space or head room.

–Kelly Marinan

Yalecrest Doors

Have you seen these doors on your neighborhood walks? yalecrest doors 1

Where are they located?

Do you know its architecture style?

What type of entry door do you have? 

As I take my daily dogwalk in the Yalecrest neighborhood, I marvel at the beauty, craftsmanship and diversity of the original doors on our homes.  The character of the original front entry doors are intimately associated with the houses’ architecture.

Homes in Yalecrest are represented by Early 20th century residential types, which include Bungalows (1905-1925), Period Cottages (1910-1935), and CapeCod (1925-1945).

Within those building types are a variety of styles, which are characterized by architectural detail that adds to the basic form.  Bungalows include Arts and Crafts and Prairie School.  Period Cottage styles include Colonial Revival, Neoclassic, English Tudor, Period Cottages, French Norman, Spanish Colonial Revival and ModernClick here for more information

Bungalows (1905-1925) both Arts and Crafts and Prairie School styles are characterized by a wood framed, one story (sometimes two) home, with a low-pitched roof containing partially exposed framing wood members in its gable ends and decorative motifs.  A Bungalow home often accentuates the texture of its material and features abstract patterns in stained and leaded glass.  The local architect Taylor Woolley, who apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright in the Oak Park, Illinois studio is associated with many of the finest examples of this architectural style in Utah and  we have some in Yalecrest! The front entry doors associated with this building style are often constructed wider than a traditional front exterior door and are made with solid oak with decorative art glass inserts or side panels.  See examples

Period Cottage Revivals

Colonial Revival (1890-1940) is influenced by Dutch (gambrel roof designs) and English (Georgian and Federal periods of the 18th and early 19th centuries) designs.  The Cape Cod cottage is a subtype of the Colonial Revival built during the 1930’s.   Colonial revival styled homes have hip, gable or gambrel roofs, with symmetrical front facades, porches, with shingles, wood siding or brick surfaces, bay windows, side and transom lights around the front entry, and broken, segmental pediments.  See examples

Neoclassical (1900-1925) has uninterrupted cornice and /or pedimented porticos and symmetrical front facades.  Doors associated with this architecure are often paneled and have glass transoms above and to the sides of the front entry door.  See examples

English Tudor (1915-1935) is characterized by an asymmetrical façade and timber-frame architectural detail (stucco wall panels with exposed wood framing members).  English Tudors have a picturesque irregular massing, a variety of window shapes, diamond-pane and/or bottle-glass lights, tall casement windows, clay chimney pots, and a steeply pitched gable roof.  Doors associated with this style are often a single piece of quarter-sawn oak (sometimes walnut) with or without small art glass inserts and with or without wrought iron details.  See examples

English Cottage (1920-1940) is characterized by an all brick exterior without the timber frame architectural detail of English Tudor, but is similar in all other aspects.  English Cottages are typically smaller than English Tudors but have a picuresque irregular massing, a variety of window shapes and steeply pitched gable roof.  Doors associated with this style are either rectangular or rectangular with curved heads.  They are constructed from Douglas fir, quarter-sawn oak wood from either a single piece of wood or multiple conjoined linear planks with a window insert of diamond-pane, art glass or large circular glass.  See examples

Spanish Colonial Revival (1915-1935) is based on the architectural styles of Mexico and are characterized by red tile roofs, white stucco-covered wall surfaces with low relief ornament, decorative cornices and parapets, wrought iron grills and balconies. Doors associated with the Spanish Colonial Revival style are heavily paneled in oak with wrought iron detail.  See examples

French Norman (1915-1935) style was originally popularized by architect Richard Morris Hunt in the first 3 decades of the 21st century.  This style is loosely based on the vernacular of Normandy and Brittany.  Its design elements incorporates stone, brick and stucco with half-timbering and decorative brick patterns, wall dormers, steeply pitched slate roofs, and round towers with conical-shaped roofs.  The doors associated with French Norman Revival are often heavily paneled with wooden spindle inserts over a glass window.  See examples

Modern styles (1930-1940) are characterized by rounded edges or rectilinear corners, constructed in cement or stucco with butterfly or flat roofs and large glass windows with or without fenestrations.  Doors associated with this building style are typically flat rectilinear in shape without embellishment but occasionally contain a circular piece of glass.  See examples

—Lynn Kennard Pershing